Now let's say you have 32bit x86 windows. 3GB is going to be a problem due to shadowed memory allocated address space for the frame buffers etc. Do the drivers let you set a max memory usage to, say, 1GB or 2GB? Or are there other workarounds for using such a great new gaming GPU in a (common) 32bit system? A 3GB GPU is at risk of completely consuming all system memory address space on 32bit leaving only a few MB let for the game!

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How many modern day gaming rigs do you know of that are running a 32 bit OS? I know of absolutely ZERO

While the Steam Survey data says that ~57% of participants use a 64-bit OS, it also says the most common DX10+ GPUs are the NV GeForce 9800 series from 2008, the ATI 5770 from 2009 and the NV GeForce GTX 260 from 2008. So its time to start asking whether bringing up this data in discussions helps a stance's cause or actually hurts it.

A majority percentage does not equal an argument's coup de grâce. Just because the 26-40 year old demographic is largest doesn't mean the 41-65 demographic can be safely ignored. That is, of course, not how the world, businesses, nor common sense works.

As enthusiasts, we pride ourselves on being the Early Adopters, or at least tuned into the specifics of new tech generations. We intellectually know that far too many PC gamers buy their PCs pre-built, and at the mercy of retailer markup margins, rather than build it themselves... and then go on to bitch to the Internet that PC gaming is expensive. However, even though we acknowledge we're wearing these unique skewed worldview glasses, we still underestimate just how many people will buy their PCs from Acer or Gateway, and consider them "modern day". And those retailers? They charge extra for 64-bit OS installs, if they bother to include an OS at all.

While obviously Steam survey data comes from participants who opted-in, it is common to forget that those who opted-out are part of the pie and not represented. So the "Steam data doesn't represent all PC gamers" defense is true twice: it also doesn't represent all Steam gamers themselves.

And if the GTX 460 also being high in the percentages must be mentioned, try to remember it was beaten even by a 5850 at its birth, and driver improvements a year on have only increased the gap, not decreased it...

Lets not even get started on Corporate backward compatibility needs, cost-per-console considerations and ease of programming developments continuing to build The Ark Of The Future upon brittle wood...

Don't lie to yourselves. 32bit Operating Systems are still a huge force in the computing world, for plenty of ingrained reasons.